[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12541-S12542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE CENTENNIAL OF SENATOR MARGARET CHASE SMITH'S BIRTH

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to say a few words in honor of one 
of our Nation's most legendary Senators and one of Maine's most beloved 
public figures: Senator Margaret Chase Smith.
  December 14 marks the 100th anniversary of Senator Smith's birth. 
Since we will not be in session on the 14th, I would like to take the 
opportunity to speak in honor of her centennial today.
  Margaret Chase Smith has the distinction of being the first woman 
elected in her own right to both the House of Representatives and the 
U.S. Senate. She served in the Senate from 1949 to 1972--the entire 
time that I was growing up in Maine. Throughout her tenure in Congress, 
she served as a great source of pride and inspiration for countless 
people throughout Maine and the Nation.
  Mr. President, I am one of those fortunate people whose life was 
touched personally by Senator Margaret Chase Smith. So it is with a 
great deal of gratitude and admiration that I speak about her legacy 
today in celebration of her centennial.
  Mr. President, when I was just 18 years old, a high school senior 
from Caribou, ME, Senator Margaret Chase Smith encouraged me to pursue 
a career in public service. Now I serve in the U.S. Senate, holding her 
very seat. Her example of moderation, independence and integrity 
continues to guide me every day as I seek to represent the people of 
Maine.
  Walking through the Halls of the Senate, I am frequently reminded of 
my first significant encounter with Senator Smith.
  In January 1971, I left my hometown of Caribou, ME, to spend a week 
here in Washington, DC. I was one of 100 high school students from 
around the Nation participating in the U.S. Senate Youth Program. The 
program consisted of VIP tours of Washington, formal dinners, and 
numerous high-profile speakers ranging from Supreme Court Justices to 
top White House officials. The highlight of my week, however, was the 
afternoon that we visited our respective Senators.
  When I arrived at Senator Smith's office, I was immediately ushered 
into her personal suite. Her office was bustling with activity, and yet 
it had a stately and serene quality. Senator Smith looked perfectly at 
home in the setting as the only woman in the Senate. Her green office 
suited her well and, of course, reminded me of the State of Maine. She 
shook my hand and invited me to sit down, and seemed genuinely 
interested in what I had to say.
  Much to my amazement, Mr. President, instead of just quickly posing 
with me for a picture, Senator Smith spent nearly 2 hours talking to me 
about her years in Congress. She stressed the importance of public 
service and the difference that one person could make. We talked about 
her opposition to McCarthyism and the necessity of standing tall for 
one's principles no matter what the cost.
  As I was leaving, she handed me a copy of her famous ``Declaration of 
Conscience'' speech to take with me. I was struck by her presence and I 
knew that she was a woman of enormous strength and integrity. I was so 
proud that she was my Senator.
  As I bid her farewell, I could not keep the smile from stretching 
across my face nor the dreams from racing through my mind. To me, 
Senator Smith was living proof that women, even those of us from small 
rural towns in Maine, could accomplish anything upon which we set our 
sights.

  I have since learned that my early impressions of Senator Smith are 
shared by thousands of others throughout our State and throughout the 
Nation whose lives she touched. But we in Maine are particularly 
fortunate to have had her as a role model and as our Senator.
  As one Congresswoman recently said to me, ``You know, it was much 
harder for women to get elected in my State because we didn't have 
Margaret Chase Smith.''
  Senator Smith's 32 years of leadership epitomized the type of 
thoughtful, independent representation that sets a standard for public 
service.
  As I campaigned throughout Maine for the Senate last year, it was 
apparent to me that the name ``Margaret Chase Smith'' strikes a 
resounding chord with the citizens of my State. From Kittery to Calais 
to Fort Kent, people recognize and honor her name and her legacy as 
synonymous with thoughtful, independent, and honest representation. 
This above all else, Mr. President, is the legacy of Senator Smith and 
the tradition which those of us who are honored to follow in her 
footsteps strive to uphold.
  While Senator Smith served as an inspiration to me as a young girl 
and as a beacon of strength during my two statewide campaigns, it was 
not until I began my service in the Senate that I fully understood her 
legacy and the extraordinary courage she exhibited throughout her years 
in Congress.
  Margaret Chase Smith is perhaps best remembered for her principled 
and unabashed stance against Senator Joe McCarthy. Because the 
courageous stand that she took against McCarthyism is so familiar to 
all of us today--it seems to be so obviously the right thing to do--we 
sometimes forget and underestimate the risks that she took and the 
hardships she endured in this fight. From my new perspective as a U.S. 
Senator, I must say that the courage that Senator Smith showed during 
the McCarthy era is truly remarkable.
  Over the course of the past several months, I have had many occasions 
to reflect upon another of Senator Smith's principled positions.
  As a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, I have been 
involved in investigating the fundraising abuses of the 1996 
Presidential election campaigns. These hearings have examined some of 
the most deplorable and certainly most excessive fundraising practices 
in our Nation's history, such as operating the Lincoln Bedroom like a 
hotel, phony issue ads, fundraising coffees in the Oval Office and soft 
money contributions of staggering sums and questionable origins.
  In the 24 years since Senator Smith left office, fundraising has 
become an all-consuming and self-propelling institution. It is 
difficult for those of us who are in office today to remember that 
Senator Smith waged so many successful political campaigns without 
soliciting a single contribution. How we envy her. She believed that 
big money had the potential to be a corrupting influence in the system, 
and she has certainly been proven right.
  Throughout this past year--my first in the Senate--I have been 
reminded of one of Senator Margaret Chase Smith's most famous 
statements time and again. She once said that there is a ``difference 
between the principle of

[[Page S12542]]

compromise and the compromise of principle.'' This sentiment has guided 
me through many tough negotiations and heated debates where it is 
sometimes difficult to know when it is best to be stalwart for the sake 
of principle and when it is time to seek common ground in the name of 
action.
  Compromising one's principles is wrong; but the principle of 
compromise, on the other hand, is the essence of a healthy democracy. 
Senator Smith's wisdom has helped me many times in reaching decisions 
on thorny issues.
  Mr. President, 25 years after my first encounter with Senator Smith, 
I fulfilled the dream that she fostered in me back in 1971, and was 
elected to her seat in the U.S. Senate. Just as Senator Smith was the 
first woman elected in her own right to both the House of 
Representatives and the Senate, upon my election, Maine became the 
first State in the Nation to be represented and to elect two Republican 
women Senators.
  This distinction is a fitting tribute and testament to the legacy of 
Margaret Chase Smith. If not for her 32 years of congressional service, 
many doors to and within the Capitol might still be closed to women 
today.
  In all of history, Mr. President, there have only been 15 women 
elected to the U.S. Senate in their own right, and 3 of us have been 
from the great State of Maine.
  Thanks to Senator Smith's decades of selfless service, principled 
leadership and pioneering efforts, the people of Maine know that 
leadership is not about gender; it is about decency and tenacity and 
service and integrity. Margaret Chase Smith embodied all of these 
traits, and so much more.
  Today, I honor her for paving the way for me, and countless others, 
and for establishing the thoughtful and independent approach to public 
service that Mainers have come to expect from their elected officials.
  I thank the Chair. And I also thank the Chair for presiding for me so 
that I could pay tribute on the 100th anniversary of the great Senator 
from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Presiding Officer in his capacity as a 
Senator from the State of Wyoming suggests the absence of a quorum.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SPECTER. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SPECTER. I compliment the distinguished Senator from Maine, 
Senator Collins, for those very erudite and profound remarks. The U.S. 
Senate is graced by two women Senators, Senator Olympia Snowe and 
Senator Susan Collins. I know that Senator Margaret Chase Smith is a 
role model for them as she is a role model for so many in America--men 
as well as women.
  It is with some frequency I quote her famous dictum, to distinguish 
between the principle of compromise and the compromise of principle.
  I think with the qualities of Senator Collins and Senator Snowe, they 
would be in the U.S. Senate even without Senator Margaret Chase Smith 
blazing the trail for them in Maine, but it didn't do them any harm.
  That was an extraordinary statement. I have had the good fortune to 
work with both Senator Collins and Senator Snowe on a little Wednesday 
lunch group and on the Governmental Affairs Committee. Senator Collins 
has done outstanding work on the Governmental Affairs Committee and I 
think there is more coming.

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